According to Daily Mail, Manchester United are expected to seal a deal for Juventus star Mario Mandzukic as early as next week. The Croatian international will arrive at Old Trafford for a fee in the region of £15 million. In other news, the Red Devils are preparing for the departure of Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian has agreed personal terms with Juve and will earn around £8.2 million per year.
United will likely receive a considerable paycheck for the transfer of Lukaku while Mandzukic will be considered as a short-term replacement. But, how does he stack up against the ex-Everton forward?
Style of play
Both the strikers are pretty similar as far as their style of play is concerned. Mandzukic, in particular, is a robust centre-forward, who relies on his aggression and tenacity to put pressure on opposing defenders. His physicality allows him to keep hold of the ball under tight pressure.
Lukaku, meanwhile, is also a physically astute forward. He is superior when it comes to keeping hold of the ball in the final third. Unlike Mandzukic, the Belgian can exchange quick passes with his teammates and is blessed with technical quality as well.
Lukaku does, however, lack mobility and offers very little dynamism going forward. And that’s where Mandzukic can be useful. The Croatian, even at the age of 33, is always willing to close down ball-carrying defenders or make intelligent runs in behind the defence. Besides, he is quite dominant in headed duels, though Lukaku can provide that feature.
Statistical comparison
Statistics suggest that Mandzukic does much more work-rate off the ball, having attempted 1.7 tackles per game compared to Lukaku’s 0.5. He did, however, attempt fewer shots (1.4 per 90 mins) on goal than his Belgian counterpart (2.3 per 90 mins).
Lukaku is also superior when it comes to beating defenders. He had averaged almost one successful dribble per 90 with an accuracy of 52%. Mandzukic, in contrast, managed only 0.4, although he did deliver 1.3 key passes, which is relatively better than Lukaku’s 0.9 (using per 90 minutes metrics).
And finally, in the aerial aspect of the game, the Manchester United star comfortably beats Mandzukic, having won 3.9 headed duels per 90 last season. The Croatian only managed 3.3 but has a success rate of 57%, which is more than Lukaku’s 52%.
Stat courtesy: Whoscored
Can Mandzukic replace Lukaku?
The bottom line is – Mandzukic is not as talented as Lukaku. But, given the way how the Belgian has struggled in the past 12 months, the Juve forward can surely offer a lot to the table for Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer’s team in the upcoming season.
Moreover, his vast experience at the highest level of football could be useful for the likes of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Daniel James, among many others. And for a fee of just £15 million, Mandzukic is a clever piece of investment for the Red Devils.
